The man who pushed and contributed to create a federal Muslim registry in the name of national security now has Donald Trump's ear as a top member of his transition team, NBC News reported.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a policy wonk with a reputation for handcrafting the legal means to political ends, says he has a plan to help Trump pull off some of his most contentious campaign promises.

Trump has explored a variety of methods to vet potential terror threats, targeting specifically Muslims by proposing outright travel bans or creating a federal database of all people in the U.S. who practice Islam.

Kobach told Reuters this week that Trump's immigrant transition team proposed drafting executive actions to reinstate a post-9/11 era program that registered immigrants and visitors from countries designated as havens for extremist activity.